blood drive @ NP

been on duties this week helping out the RCHN with the blood donation drive at NP campus. we received about an average of 100+ bags of blood a day, thanks to the generous supporters from both students and staff!

hah, in any case those of you who have not donated before might want to check out the size of the needles used! :)

normal sized needle

blood drawing needle (:

sinking of singapore?

'sinking of Japan' is finally out on the big screen after much anticipation. been watching the trailers on tv mobile and i guess its gonna be another of those 'Armageddon', 'Contact', 'Volcano', etc kind of movie. ratings are at 3 popcorns including #1 on japan box office!

ironically i dont understand why the japanese would wana catch a movie about the destruction of their country, and make it #1 some more! :\

Not our bus never stop for you, you never flag the bus early

an article from mrbrown.com with referrence to the news. one that many of us would totally agree with mann.

SINGAPORE : The SBS Transit has placed signs at 100 selected bus stops across Singapore, encouraging passengers to flag the bus early.

This will help bus captains stop at a timely manner and to ensure a smoother and safer ride for those onboard.

The operator has launched the public education campaign after receiving complaints that bus captains drove off from bus stops without picking up passengers.

Its subsequent investigations found that many commuters missed the bus because they often flagged too late.

Commuters can also pick up brochures on safe bus stop practices at 16 bus interchanges. - CNA /ls

So people, it is YOUR fault, ok?

Some forummers from Hardwarezone felt that instead of a "Flag the Bus Early" campaign, there should be campaigns for bus companies like:

"Slow Down the Damn Bus When Approaching Bus Stop" campaign
"Do Not Overtake a Fellow Bus When Approaching Bus Stop" campaign
"Buses Come More Regularly and at Shorter Intervals" campaign
"Buses should brake properly" campaign
"Cut down Bus Hikes" campaign

and of course, this gem:"Stop Wasting Money on Useless Campaigns" campaign

Feel free to suggest some more campaigns. In Singapore, we can never have too many campaigns.

source: mrbrown.com

a meaningful quote

instead of seeing suffering as a punishment, we are asked to see suffering as being personally kissed and embraced by the crucified Christ. he holds us so close and tight; we can feel the nails and thorns in our own body.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

to every little good thing in life

today was really a blessed day! with good news on the promotion of my buddies in jc and i myself was posted into an IS class with a pretty much nice tuitor and ongoing classmates, i feel fortunate as compared to the previous semester being under a demanding and screwed up tuitor. after of which was redcross training at fmss which finally resumed after quite some time. how else can the day be better and forward looking!

all in all, the first commercial sums up a friday for many of us after the tiring first week of school... or at least it seems so lah. haha :)



taken from youtube / mrbrown.com

hot stuff!

kim jong il has been making most of the headlines these days ever since his first nuclear test and threatening another. well, at least theres something 'exciting' to tune into on CNN and our very own CNA now.

but still, we should be very much concerned on NK's 'declaration of war' in retaliation to international sanctions and be praying about the fate of humanity.

haze haze go away

unfortunately due to the bad haze and poor visibility at sea, our boat and fishing trips out were cancelled. instead the dudes bunked in at my place and we spend the last week of holidays watching corny dvds such as eurotrip, date movie, american pie band camp (highly recommended!) and afew others of my personal favourites in the comfort of home. its common that the atmosphere at boonlay is usually filled with sweet aroma of chocs - from the factories. so now when you get it mixed with haze... all i get to smell here now is... burnt chocolate!? >.<

in any case, do take care friends! we are encouraged to stay indoors if the PSI is above a hundred. if a record of PSI 150 was considered buay tar han for us already, imagine what it would have been like for our neighbour with a record of 500!

mr & mrs Spongebob

incase you didnt know, spongebob's parents appeared on tv too! :)

OMG, how do sponges do it! sheesh.

what girls really want

sometimes we wonder whats going on in a girl's mind... perhaps these few compositions by girls from a p5 class whom were made to write on the topic, 'My Ideal Partner' could tell it all. yes, primary 5 ok.

compo 1
for my ideal partner, he must truely love me. he must be responsible, adventurous, romantic, and a guy who doesnt like to show off and doesnt steal, and must be kind hearted. if he is not up to all these points, i cannot be his girlfriend. but it is hard to find these kind of men nowadays.

he can spend two times a week or three with me. but if he needs to study, i will understand. he must be someone who doesnt lose his temper easily. if he quarells with me, he will try and patch up again. i will only give him 3 days time limit to let him patch up with me.

if he buys me many times, i will reject them all.i will ask him to donate it to the old folks' home or a children hospital for the children in there.

he must know how to make me happy too. if he makes me sad, i will again give him 3 days to make me happy. that guy will fully love me and not anyone else. if he does not, i will ditch him right away.

for his looks, he does not need to be whatever cute, handsome, extra cute. a good looking guy does not mean he is the mr PERFECT for grls. he does not need to be rich too. spending his money on me is a waste ( yar right)

in all, the perfect guy for me must be all the points i mentioned.


compo 2
my ideal partner must be a very kind, generous, loving, caring, playful and responsible for all his doings. he must not always be in hot temper, and they must not be cunning and always lie to me.

he must not be those who like 'pretend' to be a good guy before marriage like those on TV, they always ditch away their wife after that.

okay, you see those ang moh, they always act as they are so good but after you marry them they will like kill you. i want my boyfriend to be smart not cunning.

he WILL have to have the time to accompany me to play. always bringing me out for adventures and long adventures and interesting too! with my friends along too! he must be older than me!

compo 3
to me, i think he must be thinking about the future and knows what i want and like. when a begger or helpless man shows up, he must be willing to part with some money. he must be decisive and when made a decision, he will never regret. gives and takes whenever we argue, must be forgiving, loyal, faithful. when anything goes wrong, must be calm and discuess the problem with me. never keep secrets from me. and allows me to work to earn extra income for the household. must have a sense of fashion and never argues with my parents. if my ideal partner is in a business, i will give ideas to help.

compo 4
my ideal partner must be understanding, kind hearted, friendly , tall, handsome, trustable, handsome, have good studying qualification. he must also be rich and have to love shopping. so that i can go shopping with him. my ideal partner has to be also thoughtful. he must not do anything that breaks the law. he must be hardworking, romantic , caring, loving and must NOT be a two-timer. he must be able to decide decisins quickly, humorous and does things well. he must be able to support the family and receive good salary.

he must know how to do housework such as mopping and doing of the laundry. he cannot be a divorcee. he must lend a helping hand to those people who have difficulties. he must not be stingy. he must be faithful and sincere, must be honest. when we quarell, he must be able to give into me and must be loyal to me. my ideal partner cannot be a smoker, be able to communicate to me well. he must have to be a graduate. he must be cautious and careful. he will also have to take care of the environment.

the end.

oh my... so demanding. *glups* guys, now we know... hahas.

last week on the job

its the last week on the job and that has no doubt stirred up pretty much emotion. it wasnt surprising to find myself so quickly attached to the job in such a short period of time. besides the adorable little ones (monsters included) whom i spend most of my time with and found so much joy upon, the other fellow relief teachers whom i share my desk with, and staff have made it such a pleasant time to be working, gossipping with and having many good laughs at the kids' work at the end of each day. so much was gained and learnt during this course of time. boy, does time flies... im gonna miss everyone and everything here.

til the next long vacation! :)

goodbye blue and yellow, welcome orange and brown

after much long procrastination, today was well used to clean, tidy up and adding a new colour to my room! i seem to like it this way :)

besides, kevin and enshao came to gym with me. like finally. now thats what you call a well-used day!

before
















































after

children's day

we celebrated children's day today and practically the whole day was given in to celebration although half of it was meant to be lessons. good on my part also, haha. a 2hr concert in the hall, and then games in the classroom and a movie screening for the kids in the 'after school' programme. we watched charlie and the chocolate factory! and better still they got served kachang pootah from us. free flow some more. at least they enjoyed themselves lah. one thing's for sure, they received better presents than us in the past mann. stickers, snacks and pencils were all we got. now they've got pouches, stationaries, books, ice cream! and many more! oh my goodness.

well, my only gift to you little ones out there is my prayer for you all to be good and obedient children of God who will grow to be faithful followers of Him and do-ers of His will with an everlasting mentality to seek righteousness and the heart to serve one another. Amen!

unfortunately we didnt sing the usual children day's song this time. for us who could remember, it's lyrics goes something like this;

Sama-sama maju ke hadapan
Pandai cari pelajaran
Jaga diri dalam kesihatan
Serta sopan-santun dengan kawan-kawan
Dengan hati bersih serta suci
Sama-sama hormat dan berbudi
Jaga tingkah pemuda-pemudi
Adat dan budaya junjung tinggi
Capailah lekas cita-cita pemudi-pemuda
Supaya kita ada harga di mata dunia

Kalau kita lengah serta lupa
Hidup kita sia-sia
Jiwa besar sihat serta segar
Rajin dengan sabar tentu bahagia
Lemah lembut perangai pemudi
Cergas tangkas wataknya pemuda
Suka rela selalu berbakti
Sikap yang pembela dan berjasa
Capailah nama yang mulia pemudi-pemuda
Rajinlah supaya berjaya semoga bahagia!

and after all these i finally found the translation. hah!

Together we progress
Clever at seeking knowledge
Take care of your health
And be courteous to your friends
With a clean and pure heart
We respect and do good to each other
Watch your behaviour, oh youths
Respect and honour your customs and traditions
Quickly reach your goals/dreams, oh youths
So that we'll have our worth, in this world

If we are lazy and forgetfulOur lives are worthless
A big heart and a fresh mind
Hardworking and patience will bring happiness
Soft-spoken is the lady
Energetic and tenacious is the man
Charitable, always contributing
Having a righteous spirit and doing good
Attain a respectable position, oh youths
Be hardworking so that you will succeed, may you achieve happiness!

so to all the kids out there including myself, have a happy and blessed children's day!

happy for me also cause i have monday off! whooray (:

forbidden city

caught forbidden city at the esplanade with chanel today - her treat, haha xie xie ni :). the acting was great, the music was amazing, the props were amusingly clever and the show was just fantastic. a local production all singaporeans should catch!

on the other hand, hady won singapore idol! i like johnathan better though. :(

TGIF

TGIF! yes, thank God its friday!

working the past 2 weeks have made me appreciate fridays and weekends much more.

being able to catch up with sec school friends i havent met for awhile, spending time with her, renting dvds and going down to borders, kino or ikea (if im not lazy that is) usually makes my day :)

uniquely me

ive been attached to an 'after school' programme that takes place everyday for the accademically weaker kids and those with family background problems. as though tuitoring and mentoring these lttle ones is already enough of a challege, now you have to control these kids to sit down and ensure they finish their homework for the day. 5 minutes of stoning at their worksheets and theyre up from their seats running around the classroom to find trouble with the other pupils. sheesh. as on the verge of blasting at them, i recalled the times i used to be one of these little terror myself, or perhaps worst. and likewise my parents would shout and cane me just to have me sit down and concentrate. the cane and the books usually went together. i'd run around the dinning table as my mom would chase me with the cane and sometimes she'd start laughing (i was cute back then), but of course that didnt happen most of the time. when she wasnt around i'd throw the canes out of the window but sadly she'd come home with even more. looking at the kids was perhaps another reflection of myself at that stage of life. now in their shoes, i realised then that it was never easy for my parents to control me (not that i was naughty but you know, boys will be boys :] ) but more importantly it must have had hurt them much more to have me disciplined in such a way. afterall, they only wanted what every parent wants for their child - the best. im grateful for how my parents had brought me up. i guess it was mostly the bad and terrorizing times that made me mature the most.

art lessons

the p2s had art lesson today and this was what they were made to draw after watching an episode from my lappy.

see if you can recongize these characters! haha.

getting familiar...?

2 days on the job

two days on the job and they sure have brought back much memories from the long forgotten days. for some reason, the food at the canteen still taste exactly the same ( the char siew rice, fried rice, loh mee, home cooked dishes, hor fan, liang mao shui, etc!) and so does the smell of the staff room. haha! was surprised to see many of the familiar faces still there after such a looong time. for those of us who could remember the few prominent ones - mrs habi (yes, she is still scolding the kids after every recess), ms angela leow (who never seems to age) mrs lisa soh (the music teacher), mr joshua tan (hah, you should know. he's in BB now) and many chinese teachers whose names i can never remember. haha.

a very warm and welcoming little family indeed. im sure im gonna like it here for the next 3 weeks :)

also, results were out today. nothing close to fantastic yet i thought a gpa of 3.5 was rather ok at least for the first time. so yep, im glad!

back to 'school' tomorrow

enough of camps and excessive computer gaming. my application of relief teaching at fmps got accepted and work begins tomorrow! :) the working hours isnt very ideal (10am -4pm) but will make the best of it lah. lets hope i'll be given a desk in the staff room too and that i'll haf free periods to do some surfing or updating this blog. heh heh. not forgetting that results will be released this friday, lets keep each other in our prayers.

in any case, check out our mobile 'cybercafe' that followed us wherever we went for the past week. whoo!

holidays (:

five days into the holidays and it already seems like so much's been done! it was the first time doing many things including baking cookies for teachers' day, muffins and sushi as well, going out to sea and spending close to 15hours of lan gaming with johnathan and gang. haha. whoo! now this is what you call HOLIDAYS :) but then again to those preparing for their exams, do look on the bright side, study hard now and look forward to your holidays too. JIAYOU!

movies movies movies...

its the start of a new week and gladly, also the school holidays xD. ive more or less gotten my programme for the week sorted out. time to do something productive lah hahas. interestingly, ive recently been very into Mr. Brown's podcasts and checking out the articles at talkingcock.com, and surprisingly Disney movies too. renting more dvds of them these days and somehow they never fail to make me happy watching them and i can just watch them over and over again without actually getting sick. maybe its the very family-oriented theme in its flicks that make them pleasant to watch and not forgetting the forever happy endings at the end of each movie.

but does that really apply in life?

anyways, some great Disney recommendations include; high school musical, tiger cruise, cadet kelly, ice princess, school of life, lizzie mcguire movie, mighty ducks, the pacifier and princess diaries :)

first aid competition

today was the first aid competition and kudos to both cadet and link teams from fairfield redcross which did really well and once again made us proud! xD




they got the 1st runner up overall with shijia having the highest for theory :)

and heres the champion dance team from the latest link talentime - fairfield rcy too!


P.S. all photos were taken by my trusty nokia N70.

exams are over

perhaps the stagnant blog was a result of having NO LIFE due to the latest exams. "mug mug mug", who says it doesn't exist in poly? hah. business statistics wasn't anywhere close to good and i guess the rest were just averagely done. sheeshh. nonetheless, its great to have the papers finished and its time to get on with my life! WHEE. i decided to really make full use of this vacation and not waste it away like i did for the first 3 months of this year. catching up with friends, picking up new skills and earning some bucks would be good. for a start, i've applied to do relief teaching at my primary school and looking forward to a positive reply soon. xD

hah, and finally i had the time to give this blog a new skin. thought the Tur Kua's (pig's liver) so cute! haha. if by now you dont know the story behind it, do click here for it's podcast! :)

my homeland

singaporeans are famous for complaining. true perhaps? maybe its because we live in a land where everything and anything is available and just simply, we're extremely fortune. many of us have grown up in a society whereby we take the comfort and peace for granted and expect even more from the government that can satisfy not our needs, but wants. while we 'protest' for things such as the raise in taxi fares, ERP charges, stressful and demanding education system and other politic issues, etc, we forget about those who protest for and desperately desire the very basics of a decent life - food, stable means of income, good governance, education for the kids and of course, peace. i never understand how people can go about talkin about their wishes to migrate and how they have never liked it here. for me, i feel theres so much we can be proud of about right here. besides all the good standard of living, leadership in governance that no doubt we can admire, an education that so many out there would have desired for but cannot afford, blah blah... but really, where else in the world could you be in whereby the journey to school, to the coffeeshop, to play, to homes of friends and relatives would take you less than an hour. not forgetting the security of our country and our personal security against riots, protests, violence, mobbing..., can never be experienced anywhere else in the world.
together with my loved ones, thats what makes it really feel like home here. =)

what a week

whoo, a busy and extremely occupied week it has been. right now its packing and getting ready for national camp thats tomorrow. til i return, allow the photos to tell the story =)

[founder's day dinner on friday at swissotel]

reuben and myself


batch of fmssrcy 05-06


tricia, chervon and dawn. my link members xD


us with our captain licenses! hah.


mr firhad, hidayat and myself

[link talentime on saturday at st margs sec]

the fmspsrcy link song team.

[catching the opening ceremony of the s'pore fireworks festival]








[national day parade on tuesday morning at fmss]

flag bearers at attention





CLT TAN and myself

guardian angels

just a short beautiful story that i happened to come across on the net :)

A young university student was home for the summer.

She had gone to visit some friends one evening and time passed quickly as each shared their various experiences of the past year.

She ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone. She wasn't afraid because it was a small town and she lived only a few blocks away.

As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Diane asked "God" to keep her safe from harm and danger.

When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she decided to take it.

However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he were waiting for her.

She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for "God's" protection.

Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped round her, she felt as though someone was walking with her.

When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived home safely.

The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there.

Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep.

Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station.

She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story.

The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could identify him.

She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before.

When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down and confessed.

The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could do for her.

She asked if they would ask the man one question.

Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her.

When the policeman asked him, he answered, "Because she wasn't alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her."

a different perspective

im glad that life is back to normal now that most of my projects have been completed and submitted, leaving me a couple of tests left to worry about, but yet still well managable. today was a day off from school due to e-learning. decided to use it to catch up with a good rest and just... doing my own things. studied in the morning, afternoon with her, evening at the gym (FINALLY) and returned home when i had the sudden urge to rearrange the furniture in my room to give it a new look, not forgetting tidying it up which was supposed to have been done ages ago. heh. i like it now. more space, cosier and less dust (or at least i think so) [=

being humans, its hard for many of us to really stay contented with what we already have. we yearn for something or someone so much, and when we finally get it, we expect more soon after. human instinct or result of societal pressure? i cant deny not being part of it. but as i lie on my comfy and warm bed just having filled my stomach with that light yummy supper, watching the news headlines flash across on channel newsasia; civil war in iraq, heatwave claiming more lives in europe, middle east violence, north korea nuclear crisis, typhoon kaemi in china, war in lebanon, fierce riots in thailand, tsunami in indonesia... i thought to myself about how fortunate i am all these while. and i asked God, 'what more can i really ask for?'

12 years later

a little boredom led me to an activity that turned out a pleasant surprise. having nothing else better to do, i decided to type the names of my k2 classmates found in the above picture in friendster and well guess what. i actually found afew of them, who in turned found afew others and hah, half the class has been found. imagine that, good old friends whom you though you have lost forever suddenly popping up to you looking 12 years older. thats something that means alot to me. heh, seems like friendster is useful after all isnt it? (:

reunion

the funny little thing about life is that often when we were young, we much wanted to be adults quickly, in the sense being matured and joining the elders in their social activities and conversations. and ironically being young adults at this point, who would deny having the desire to be young again, when play was all it was and everyday was a tiny new adventure through the obstacles at the playground after school.

we had a sec4 class reunion/ evening picnic at the botanical gardens today. though not the entire class were present, majority did. there were food, drinks, games, laughter and not forgetting a great deal to catch up on with one another. having a nice green grass spot to sit on in the centre of the big field with the scent of nature carried by the wind blowing pass my face while watching the rest engrossed in their game of Captain's Ball was a nice little time to have alone thinking about well, what else but - life itself. many of the friends i met today were those i have not seen since the O level papers. gladly, all of us have changed for the better indeed, though no doubt the playful kid might still stay within us. as i watched the game being played, i couldnt help but marveled at just how much all of have changed one way or another since our last Captain's Ball match about exactly a year ago during the interclass games where we played our hearts out. unexpectly, some now being attached, some having finally accepted christ and some simply more matured than before. amusing how society is able to gloom a person :) i wondered what surprises might be next. how much more can one really become? how will we see each other in the near future? doctors, businessmen, pastors, engineers, soliders...? maybe we'll even see each other's partners the next reunion. who knows, in a matter of time, we'll bring along kids of our own. hahas.

the truth is, thats life. once it passes, its not going back. now thats really another reason why every moment of life should be cherished, embracing both the ups and downs of life and relationships with friends and loved ones.

as we ate, we shared about school, results, the norms in each of our own schools, bgr and interestingly, national service, which's only a year away for the guys in jc and a couple for those in poly. from boys to men, thats something exciting to look forward to :)

we arrived, and we departed. the time we had, i thank God for.

why france?

as the workload and stress levels from school begins to pile up, so does the efforts of adapting to such. the late nights and 'long' consultations after school contributing to quite an extent. if theres a need to chiong, now would definitely be a good time to. interestingly, its a matter of 'when the going goes tough, the tough gets going'.

so the world cup finals came to an end in dismay for many such as me. yes, france's out and her captain having been red carded though ironically awarded the golden ball. sheeessh. in any case, it was altogether a beautiful game and wonderful time spent with friends through the late nights with a constant supply of food and drinks and screams to wake the neighbours up. its a good thing the whole football mania is now over too, so all the little students can return to their good old homework and to school without the drowsy appearance. that well includes me :) as for the upcoming EPL, hmm... not much of a temptation though. hah.

thanks to the whole cup, i now hereby declare saturdays and sundays - compulsory gym days!

DreamOn@DXO

support the people @ Dream On today! click here for more details.
cause dreams dont need reasons to live.

happy days

the long daily bus journeys to and fro school and home would usually provide a good time for me to doing some reading or simply, reflect on the week's activities. i've been pondering over certain issues that have been rather worrying and saddening to me. however thru them i've come realised the value of life. for instance, how life is only lived once and theres no turning back when something has passed. thus, its really a waste to be all caught up being sad and depressed over matters that instead only time can resolve rather than focusing on brighter thoughts. i guess being happy would very much first require us to learn to accept different people, for no one can be perfectly how we want them to be, looking on the bright side of life and taking negative situations as learning experiences to constructive use in the future. afterall, the choice lies with us if we want everyday to be HAPPY day isnt it? :)

1-0

its half time with having France in the lead. lets hope it stays this way =)

forbidden city!

at last, something i've been waiting for.

weekday tics going for - S$30, S$50, S$70, S$80, S$110, S$140

click here for further details

interested, do drop me a message =)

stressss

school hasnt been going very well lately. though tests and projects arent bad enough, you get 'teachers' who make things extremely difficult for you in every possible way and just make you feel very much wanting to kill them. believe me when i say you have not seen worst >.< nonetheless, i pray that God will grant me the tolerance, patience and courage to overcome such obstacles.

decided to go back to reading after browsing through a book at lifebookshop last week and found this book rather inspirational. A Table in the Presence, that accounts of how a U.S marine battalion experienced God's presence amidst the chaos of the war in iraq. well, i hope i do find some inspiration in it for myself. :)

Cadets' Recognition Day

somethings, words cant describe.



platoon charlie trainers



fairsians



thats jamues, the spammer on my tag board.

click here to view ULP charlie's cheer

and here for ULP charlie's song

Does this mean farewell?

i hope not :